A good balance of throwbacks and new material for everyone.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is like a breath of fresh air for all 2D Mario fans out there who've been craving some multiplayer action on the big screen rather than a portable. As expected, the game lives up to its predecessors. The game's core 8 worlds are broken up into different themes, from desert, to volcano, to your basic mushroom kingdom... and perhaps a bit more once you beat world 8. What I especially liked was that unlike its prequel on the DS, NSMBWii does a good job of sticking to each world's particular theme, rather than jumbling up random jungle and forest levels into the most non-fitting of theme worlds like ice, which was just strange overall.
Power-ups, both old and new are easy to pick up on, though, admittedly, there is (once again) the one "cheap" power-up that can be used to cruise through an entire level. The propeller helmet is functional in a good number of levels, especially the later, more difficult ones that scroll up and down rather than left to right. Still, at least it's less cheap than the mega mushroom.
Gameplay is, again, as expected and is incredibly easy to pick up on whether you're new to the series or a long-time player. Even for the newest of gamers, NSMBW sets it up so that the first world lets players have a good grasp of controls and overall style. After that, however, things make quite the leap in difficulty. Even so, though, the game isn't completely ruthless, allowing for players to keep an inventory of power-ups that one may sort through before entering a stage, similar to SMB3. One minor complaint, though, is because of such a feature, designers apparently thought the need for a backup power-up while in a stage unnecessary; something which is much needed in later levels. Furthermore, in the case that you've gone through the same stage multiple times only to reach your death at some point, an option to have Luigi walk through the course for you comes up, if you're willing to set your pride aside. And if that wasn't enough help for you, you could always spend your star coins on unlocking some helpful hint video walk-throughs.
But what has really been hyped up in the game aren't the levels or power-ups, but the option for multiplayer. To my knowledge, the only other Mario Bros game to have such an option was the classic Mario Bros game. Instead of multiple Mario clones, though, this time we're presented with the option of brother Luigi and... two Toads. While some may have wanted other characters playable in the game, it honestly doesn't matter since, from what I've seen, each character plays the same way. While multiplayer does have its benefits, especially when collecting star coins, a down side is that in some cases, getting through a level in multiplayer could be more difficult than in single player. Regardless, just being able to play a Mario game with up to three other people is incredibly enjoyable no matter how many continues you're given.
What further adds to the game's value is its numerous throwbacks to older Mario games. While NSMB on the DS had a similar charm to older games, its sequel on the Wii is filled to the brim with references to older Super Mario games, especially when it comes to background music. Seeing the return of Yoshi is another great throwback. Though, not being able to take him with you from stage to stage was quite the letdown. Having the different colored Yoshis and all their different shell-based abilities from SMBW was something I was greatly anticipating.
Overall, New Super Mario Bros Wii is an addicting game with or without friends to play alongside with, leaving you perched in front of the TV for hours on end without you even realizing it.